Family Reunion - Destin, Florida

We just returned to Zürich after a great 2 1/2 weeks of family time. Our trip started in Destin, Florida with a family reunion. 10 kids and 10 adults in a big ol' beach house called Case Blue. It was nonstop fun! Rob taught the girls how to dive under waves (or jump over them depending on how strong there were) and we had to explain to Grace why importing a boogie board to Switzerland wasn't a practical idea. We had rental bikes delivered to the house and took a few bike trips around the neighborhood.

The highlight of the trip was by far the time we got to spend together. The girls probably had the most fun following their older cousins around living on the beach for a week. I say we do this every Summer. 

Does anyone have pics from the Pirate ship they can send me? Thx. 

Das Geheimnis der 7 Perlen

I'm a little behind on posting to the blog. We just returned from a great family trip to the States yesterday. We went from Zürich > Frankfurt > Dallas > Destin > Dallas > Frankfurt > Zürich. Those pics to follow before Christmas, I promise. 

The girls learned to body board in Destin but most importantly they spent a whole two+ weeks with their grandparents, Aby and Pop-Pop, Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Steven, and their sweet cousins, Sophia and Shay. Grace is the proud new owner of an iPod Nano (thanks, Aby) and my feet have never looked shinier (thanks to all the inexpensive pedis to be had in the U.S.). Many tears were shed in saying good-bye and it was the first time I didn't miss Switzerland as much as I normally do. 

Our lives in Switzerland are near perfect. It's safe and clean here. We enjoy the highest standard of living compared to anywhere in the world. Our children are already trilingual at 5 & 8 --but we miss our family. We miss Americans! The Swiss are great and super competent at anything they do but they are also very insular. I miss the small talk at grocery stores or while standing in line and I realize that even if speak High German (I'm taking intensive lessons in a couple of weeks), those conversations will not flow any more easily. I do not feel apart of something here. In Switzerland, I am a bystander with a pretty fantastic life. 

Do we stay because it's such a great place to raise kids? Our children will speak 4 languages fluently by the time they are done with high school and will not have to sit through movie previews that look a lot like fire drills but for guns. Or do we go and opt to be closer to family? 

And now you know why I am so behind on blogging....

Before the end of the school year, Ally's class performed a class musical and they must've spent at least six months preparing for its debut. They practiced so hard that even the much younger siblings in the audience sang along. It was such a treat to see these little people singing and performing and most importantly smiling all the way through it. They loved it almost as much as their families did! Maybe a little more. 

To see the entire video (in Swiss German).

Swimming in Zumikon

Rob took the girls swimming today and both girls jumped from the diving boards. It was a first for Ally and Grace decided to jump off the middle board this time. Check out the videos below of two brave little girls!

We are headed to the States this week and can't wait to see everyone!

China & Japan

Rob returned last week after 12 days in Asia. He taught a class in Beijing and attended two conferences in Japan. One in Kyoto and another in Osaka. I think the pictures speak for themselves but when Rob has time he's going to give me captions for each one.

The girls and I are super excited about joining him next year when he teaches again in Beijing!

Swimming

Ally has completed her swimming course and is water ready for the beaches of Florida and her Grandparents' pool in Dallas. As with all thing Swiss, swimming, skiing and other formal classes have levels of proficiency that are measured. Ally has just completed the level needed to get her lobster patch (level 4). This means she can freestyle swim and knows how to breathe while swimming by lifting her head to the side to take a breath of air. It's such a sight to see this little thing swimming so well. She has also just learned how to dive!

School is out!

The last day of school was on Friday and we are now enjoying lazy mornings and summer camp until we leave for the States next week.

Here's a cute pic of the girls with their friend, Aline, and their teacher gifts. Normally we give something sweet (last year it was Sprüngli) but since the teacher's get inundated with sweet gifts we opted to get them something that's not edible this year. Our friends at Valse des Roses wrapped several of their beautiful roses up for us and the girls delivered them on the last day of school.

A month of birthday parties

It's been a month of birthday parties for the girls. Ally spent an afternoon on a local farm with her friend Minnie. Grace celebrated Annabella's birthday at Connyland. There's a Monsters High party this weekend and another at Spielzäenti next week.

The girls are officially out of school after next week and it really feels like summer here. Summer in the Mojave! I am looking forward to being back in the States and in a beach house with central air.